Hearing Protection Archives - ProtectHear® Moulded Earplugs, Hearing Protection, Custom Ear Plugs

15 May 2017

Deaf Awareness Week

From the 15^th-21^st May it is Deaf Awareness week. In the workplace if the noise level reaches 85dB then hearing protection must be made mandatory. There are 3 solutions to protect your hearing which are custom ear plugs, disposables and ear defenders. At the point where you reach 140dB is where pain is experienced from the amount of noise, for example being close to a Jet taking off.

There are quite a few signs to see whether you have hearing loss such as turning the TV up louder than other users and asking people to repeat what they’re saying. If these are the symptoms you are encountering then a hearing test is recommended.

There are two main types of hearing loss Conductive hearing loss, usually caused by wax build not allowing sounds to pass through to the inner ear. Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by harm to the cochlea hair cells and/or the hearing nerve. This can be caused by either over exposure, ageing and other factors.

ProtectHear® is a great product which allows you to hear conversations, whilst still blocking out the harmful noises that can damage your hearing. Check out our FAQ’s guide.

27 Mar 2017

Turn it down! Hearing Protection is a must

Excessive amounts of noise with no hearing protection can have effects such as hearing loss and tinnitus. These changes are a worry as noise is everywhere in our lives whether it be at work or socially. It is especially worrying when you consider that the effects are irreversible if you’re not protected properly.

Tinnitus can bring people great stress, causing those affected to hear a type of ringing in their ears or perhaps other noises depending on the type of Tinnitus. Hearing loss is known to be a gradual process over time as you get older.

Whether you listen to loud music, keep asking people to repeat what they’re saying or you have general difficulty hearing, these are all signs of progressive hearing loss. We live in a world where noise is all around, working environments and socially.

The Health and Safety Laboratory have created a post ‘Turn it down!’ a useful look into hearing awareness. ‘In pursuit of silence’ is mentioned in the post, this is an insider into the everyday noise in our lives.

Check out our hearing protection and health links page.

24 May 2016

Listen UP – Hearing Protection is important!

The HSE Listen UP is a hearing conference that was held in Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport which commenced the 2nd March 2016. The event discussed the importance of hearing and why it shouldn’t be taken for granted. This was a great opportunity for all the Health and Safety enthusiasts to reach out to others, and share knowledge and experience.

Employers have a duty of care to protect employees, by providing the correct hearing protection. This is a forever growing issue which needs to be stopped in its tracks, to prevent the amount of Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) claims and look after health. Hearing is not something to take for granted; it is equally as important as any other of our senses.

Our product is perfectly designed to tackle these issues, as they guarantee protection. ProtectHear® perfectly fit the ears, protecting you but also allowing noises that pass through to be attenuated to a safe level. This allows users to be protected yet still enable them to hear warning signals and conversation. Made from a soft material that can be worn all day without discomfort. We also strive to provide education with our hearing protection solution, offering toolbox talks across companies. Our product has a 5 year lifespan with a 12 month warranty. With ProtectHear® you are not just buying a product, you are buying access to a high level of service as well.

Contact us for more information on how to implement best of breed hearing protection into your organisation.

05 Jan 2016

HSE Hearing Conference – Listen UP

The HSE Listen UP is a conference that is being held in Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport on the 2nd March 2016. It will discuss the importance of hearing and why it shouldn’t be taken for granted. Once your hearing is damaged it is irreversible and hearing loss is a continuous growing problem within the workplace.

This is the first conference that the HSE have done to spread the word about hearing damage and educate audiences. A number of people in different areas of health and safety will be attending the conference such as educators, employers, health and safety professionals etc. There will be various talks being made by industry experts and new ways to counter problems.

The HSE are continuing to put in the effort to reduce claims of Noise Induced Hearing Loss and encouraging employers to take a step in the right direction to counter this ever lasting issue.

It is great to see so many people on board to try and make a change for the better; promoting hearing protection and conservation in workplaces and educate the whole sector.

10 Nov 2015

Our hearing protection website page in Works Management Magazine

Works Management recently published a great article on hearing protection in their October issue. Ian Valleley discusses NIHL or Noise Induced Hearing Loss and how it has been described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the most common permanent and preventable occupational injury in the world.

Within the article the topic of noise assessment is discussed, at which point the person responsible has to decide on whether hearing protection is required, and also what protection is available.

The article also discusses resources “So where do you go for help to address the problem of noise at your factory? The library of resources available at www.hse.gov.uk/noise is really helpful. It offers a flowchart that walks you through the process of setting up a noise management programme, so that’s probably the best place to start.

Also, the British Safety Industry Federation has launched its ‘Listen Today, Hear Tomorrow’ campaign – see http://bit.ly/1L1SNV4 for details. This contains a wealth of information on how to decide whether noise in your factory is a problem and what to do about it if it is.

Finally, the ProtectHear website (http://bit.ly/1Q16Sp6) can point you to a range of useful links and resources on the subject of hearing protection.”

Read the full article about hearing protection.

See our resources about hearing protection and health.

06 Nov 2015

The personally moulded earplug ‘impression’ process

Before deciding to throw away those disposable earplugs for good and switch to personally moulded hearing protection, many of our clients ask us how the whole personally moulded earplug scenario works.

So that we can cleverly make your very own bespoke pair of earplugs, that fit comfortably and protect you from noise (whilst still being able to hear those important things like warning signals or your colleague’s speech), we have to take an ‘impression’ or mould of your ear shape.

A common question is “what does this process involve and what does it feel like when you take an impression or moulding of my ear?”

So here is the lowdown…. thanks to model Steve for this demo.

Sit comfortably and relax.
Our qualified practitioner (who has the same level of expertise as an audiology nurse performing the same process) will then take a quick look inside your ear using a device with a tiny light, just to check that everything looks OK.
The practitioner then carefully inserts a small foam barrier into your ear very gently, you will hardly feel this and it has a string on it so it won’t get lost in there!
The fun then begins. The practitioner gently fills your ear with a non-toxic soft silicone moulding material – Barbie would love the pink! This feels a bit like inserting your usual foam earplugs so you will then be unable to hear very well once the moulding material is in there.
You wait around 3 minutes for the mould to set.
Hey presto, we gently remove the moulding material and tiny foam plug and you’re all done.
We send off the impression, and your personally moulded earplug set arrives within a couple of weeks!